Paper fastener



Aug. 2, 1938. J. SCHADE 2,125,464

PAPER FASTENER Filed Sept. 15, 19:53

INVENTOR J/m/ Jab A05 mw ia ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 2, 1938 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE PAPER FASTENER John Schade, Holyoke, Mass, assignorto National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass, a corporation ofMassachusetts Application September 15, 1933, Serial No. 689,617

15 Claims. (01. 24-153) This invention relates to paper clips, and ishas a wide adaptability to different prong widths specifically directedto the improvement of clips and thicknesses. of the customary form inwhich twospaced The keeper in its preferred form is made of a prongspass through spaced holes in the paper single piece of sheet metalfolded upon itself at stack and are held in folded down position by a Mto form an upper wall i5 and a lower Wall 5 keeper. In prior practicethe prongs have been 16, with the walls spaced apart to provide a formedas projections from a single metallic back narrow prong-receivingchannel 1?. When the piece, or have been attached to or formed integralprongs [0 are bent over parallel to the top of with eyelets secured to aheavy paper folder. the stack the keeper may be pushed over them Thepresent invention is not concerned with the to prevent their becomingunfolded. To permit 0 specific type of prong construction used, and thisthe lower wall at least is made slightly while for convenience theprongs have been shorter than the distance between the prongs shown inthe drawing as arising from a single when these are extending straightthrough the back piece it is equally applicable to prongs of holes I! inthe manner shown in Fig. 4. In l5 other types. order that the foldingover of the prongs may Keeper plates previously proposed (have all bemade rapidly and accurately the lower wall been subject to numerousdisadvantages, which it is extended laterally beyond the upper wall havebeen overcome by the construction about along one side of the keeper asat l8. When the to be described. The keeper plate forming the keeper isplaced on top of the stack in the subject of the present invention is ofextreme position of Fig. 4 this extension forms a template 2O simplicityand cheapness of construction, can be over which the prongs may beturned down by applied with great rapidity to the prongs, and thefingers in the manner indicated in Fig. 5. offers a minimum of exposedsurfaces upon By this means the prongs are always folded with whichother papers or files may catch. It works sharp corners and at aconstant elevation above with equal facility on either a thin or a thickthe top of the stack just sufiicient to clear the 25 stack, and gives animproved degree of tightbottom plate l6, thereby bringing them incorrect ness or compactness to the sheets. Additional position to enterthe channel I'l.

advantages and objects of the invention will ap- As a desirablerefinement the ends of the expear in the description and claims below.tension 18 are beveled or tapered at 20 so that .30 Referring to thedrawing, they converge in a direction away from the body Fig, 1 is aplan View of a keeper constructed of the keeper. When the upstandingprongs are in accordance with the preferred form of the bent over uponan extension [8 constructed in invention; this manner they are drawnslightly closer to Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1, taken oneanother than would otherwise be the case,

on an enlarged scale; and when the keeper is then forced into place 35Fig. 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale, on a slight pull is exertedon the prongs which line 33 of Fig. 1; serves to draw the keeper and theback plate Fig. 4 is a view showing the first step in the together andthus condense the paper stack. operation of applying the keeper to apair of A very tight clamping of the separate sheets of prongsprojecting through the holes of a paper paper results. This effect is ofparticular utility 4 stack; in rendering the device adaptable to theclamp- Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the prongs ing of sheet stackscontaining widely differing folded over but the keeper still in theposition numbers of sheets. In the practical use of fasof Fig. 4; tenersconstructed in accordance with my inven- Fig. 6 is a similar viewshowing the keeper in tion equally good results have been obtained 45its final position; and when the paper stack contained two or three Fig.'7 is a section on line 'I'l of Fig. 6. sheets or when it was so thickthat only a short The spaced prongs 10 which pass through the length ofthe prongs showed above the hole. As punched holes II in the stack ofpaper l2 may far as I am aware, this uniformity of action be made in anydesired form, and as shown are with stacks of differing thicknesses hasnot here- 5(] bent from the ends of a back piece l3. Many tofore beenobtainable. such devices are now on the market, and are It is alsodesirable to extend the upper wall l5 used with or without keepers. Thekeeper which longitudinally as at 2| so that it covers the holes formsthe present invention is adapted for use II when the keeper is in place,and to bend these with practically any of these usual types, andextensions down towards the plane of the bot- 55 tom Wall l6. Severaladvantages accrue from this construction. A much neater appearance ofthe assembled clip results, as is clearly apparent from Fig. 6, for theupper wall l5 covers up the prongs and also the holes in the paperstack, leaving nothing visible from the top of the stack except thekeeper itself. By bending the extensions downwardly the keeper is givena longitudinally curved form which prevents it from catching upon otherpapers or files, a result which has been extremely objectionable withother forms of clips using exposed sliders or presenting thick bluntedges. Not only do these extensions add to the utility of the assembleddevice, however, but they greatly facilitate the rapidity and accuracyof its assembly. Returning to the start of the assembling operation inFig. 4, where the extension l8 of the lower channel wall is passedbetween the upstanding prongs l0, it will be seen that the endextensions 2% operate as stops to limit the lateral movement of thekeeper since they strike against the edges of the prongs when the keeperhas reached its proper position. When this construction is used greatrapidity and uniformity in the assembly of the clip can be attainedwithout thev necessity for any practice whatsoever.

One additional refinement, adding both to the appearance and security ofthe clip will now be described. It will be noted in Fig. 2 that theforward edge of the upper channel wall is bent slightly downwardly as at22. The extent 'to which this edge is bent is insufficient to interferewith the sliding of the keeper over the folded over prongs H]; but it isenough so that, when the prongs are fully within the channel and springupwards by their natural resiliency, they will not permit the keeper toslide off unless some force is exerted on it. The downward curve of theedge adds to the smooth appearance of the keeper, audit also acts toprevent the keeper catching on other articles in the same way as did thedown curve at the longitudinal ends of the upper wall.

In case the retention of the prongs ID by the channel is required to bemore positive than would be secured by the construction described, adetent may be provided on one of the channel walls, preferably on thelower one. Such an arrangement has been shown in Fig. 2, where a slightlocalized elevation or hump 23 is formed at or near each end of thelower wall IS in position to have the prong Ill snap over it when thekeeper is forced into the position of Fig. 6. The operation is the sameas before, except that when the keeper is once pushed into positionslightly more effort is necessary to remove it. The humps 23 act withthe prongs as spring detents to keep the keeper positively in place. 'Itis preferable to have the detents located adjacent the zones of bendingof the prongs, as in'this position there is a minimium tendency to twistor displace the prongs when putting the keeper on or taking it off.

The material of which the keeper is made is not of importance as long assufiicient rigidity for the purpose is obtained. On account of thesimplicity of its formation comparatively little working of'the metalneed be done, this being in direct contrast to the complicatedformations of many of the previous devices. Since the metal is notgreatly distorted it is possible to use sheet metal which has receivedits final surface finish while still in sheet form, no marring ofexposed portions of the surface being incurred. Prior devices have beenuniversally sold commercially in unfinished form, as the amount ofdistortion required for their fabrication was such that they could onlybe surface finished, after they were completely formeda prohibitivelyexpensive operation. The present device is not only quicker and morereliable in operation, but lends itself readily to fabrication out ofmaterial having a comparatively inexpensive'surface finish given to itwhile in sheet form.

What I claim is:

1. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper plate extending longitudinallybetween the prongs and formed with walls spaced apart to provide betweenthem a prong receiving channel open at one side, said keeper beingadapted to be pushed laterally onto the folded down prongs to retainthem in folded condition, and having its lower wall extendin laterallybeyond its upper wall to provide a form for binding down the prongs, theupper wall having its longitudinal edge adjacent the extended portion ofthe lower wall bent downwardly to form a con-. stricted entrance to thechannel facilitating the retention of the prongs therein and avoidingthe presence of a blunt paper-engaging edge on that side of the upperwall.

In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper s ack. a keeper plate extending longitudinally bmen the prongs and. formed with walls spaced ap t to provide betweenthem a prong receiving channel open at one side, said keeper beingadapted to be pushed laterally onto thefolded down prongs to retain themin folded condition, and having its lower wall extending laterallybeyond its upper wall and formed with its longitudinal ends convergingaway from the body of the keeper whereby when the prongs are folded downon the lower Wall and the keeper pushed laterally into prong embracingposition the prongs will be tensioned and the paper stack tightly bound,the upper wall having its longitudinal edge adjacent the extendedportion of the lower Wall bent downwardly to form a constricted entranceto the channel facilitating the retention of the prongs therein andavoiding the *presence of a blunt paper-engaging edge on that side ofthe upper wall.

3. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper plate extending longitudinallybetween the prongs and formed with walls spaced apart to provide betweenthem a prong receiving channel open at one side, said keeper beingadapted to be pushed laterally onto the folded down prongs to retainthem in folded condition, the upper wall being extended longitudinallybeyond the lower wall and having its extended ends turned towards theplane of the lower Wall to cover the holes in the paper and avoid thepresence of blunt paper-catching ends on the keeper, the upper wallhaving its longitudinal edge bent downwardly to form a constrictedentrance to the channel facilitating the retention of the prongs thereinand avoiding the presence of a blunt paper-engaging edge on that side.of the upper wall.

l. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper plate extending longitudinallybetween the prongs and formed of a single sheet of metal folded onitself to form walls spaced apart and providing between them a prongreceiving channel open at one side, said keeper being adapted to bepushed laterally onto the folded down prongs to retain them in foldedcondition, and having its lower wall extending laterally beyond itsupper wall and formed with its longitudinal ends converging away fromthe body of the keeper whereby when the prongs are folded down on thelower wall and the keeper pushed laterally into prong embracing positionthe prongs will be tensioned and the paper stack tightly bound, theupper wall being extended longitudinally beyond the lower wall andhaving its extended ends turned toward the plane of the lower wall tocover the holes in the paper, the upper wall also having itslongitudinal edge bent downwardly to form a constricted entrance to thechannel facilitating the retention of the prongs therein, curvedsurfaces preventing catching on adjacent files being provided on oneside by the lengitudinal fold, on the opposite side by the bent downlongitudinal edge of the upper wall, and on opposite ends by the bentdown end extensions of the upper wall.

5. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper plate formed of a. single pieceof sheet metal folded upon itself to form a. prong receiving channel,one wall of the channel extending laterally beyond the other wall andbeing of a length substantially equal to the distance between theprongs, said extending wall having humps formed therein substantially atthe entrance to the channel and adjacent the zone of bending of theprongs to engage the outer sides of the prongs when the prongs arereceived within the channel.

6. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with-spaced prongspassing through a paper stack and folded down thereon, a keeper plateformed with walls permanently spaced one above the other at a side ofthe keeper plate to form a channel opening laterally at said side of thekeeper plate with its lower wall extending laterally beyond the upperwall at the open side of the channel and having end edges spaced apartthe distance between the spaced prongs and converging in said extendingportion in a direction away from the channel, the lower Wall of thechannel being located between the spaced prongs and underneath theirfolded portions, and the upper wall of the channel overlying the foldedportion of the prongs when the fastener is in assembled condition, thelateral extension of the lower channel wall forming a template uponwhich the prongs may be bent down in position to be received within thechannel, and the cont'erg' end edges acting to tension the prongs andbind the paper stack tightly as the keeper is. pushed laterally to bringthe folded down portions of the prongs within the channel.

'7. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper plate formed with wallspermanently spaced one above the other throughout the distance betweenthe prongs to form a channel opening laterally at said side-of thekeeper plate, the lower wall of the channel being located between thespaced prongs and underneath their folded portions when the fastener isin assembled condition and the upper wall of the channel overlying thefolded portions of the prongs and having portions extendinglongitudinally beyond the lower wall to cover the prongreceiving holesin the paper, said longitudinally extending portions of the upper wallbeing turned towards the plane of the lower wall to avoid the presenceof blunt paper-catching ends on the keeper.

8. In a paper fastener adapted for use in combination with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack and folded down thereon, a keeper plateformed with walls permanently located one above the other at a side ofthe keeper plate to form a channel opening laterally at said side of thekeeper plate, the lower wall of the channel being of a lengthsubstantially equal to the space between the spaced prongs and adaptedto underlie their folded portions when the fastener is assembled, andthe upper wall of the channel adapted to overlie the folded portions ofthe prongs.

9. In a paper fastener adapted for use in combination with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack and folded down thereon, a keeper platewith members permanently located one above the other at a side of thekeeper plate to form a channel opening laterally at said side of thekeeper plate, the lower channel forming member extending laterallybeyond the upper channel forming member at the open side of the channeland presenting prong engaging edges spaced apart a distancesubstantially equal to the spacing of the prongs so as to serve as atemplate upon which the prongs may be bent down into position to bereceived within the channel by a relative lateral sliding movement ofthe prongs and the keeper plate, the upper channel forming member of thechannel overlying the folded portions of the prongs when the fastener isassembled.

10. In a paper fastener adapted for use in combination with spacedprongs passing through a paper stack and folded down thereon, a keeperplate formed with walls permanently located one above the other at aside of the keeper plate to form a channel opening laterally at saidside of the keeper plate, the lower wall of the channel being of alength substantially equal to the space between the spaced prongs andextending laterally beyond the upper wall at the open side of thechannel so as to serve as a template upon which the prongs may be bentdown into position to be received within the channel by a relativelateral sliding movement of the prongs and the keeper plate, the upperwall of the channel being adapted to overlie the folded portions of theprongs when the fastener is assembled, and means positioned to engagereleasably the outer sides of the folded down prongs when the latter arepositioned within the channel to retain them therein.

11. In a paper fastener adapted for use in combination with spacedprongs passing through a paper stack and folded down thereon, a keeperhaving a substantially uninterrupted upper plate covering the bent downportions of the prongs When the fastener is in assembled condition, andprong engaging means integral with the upper plate and permanentlyextending down and under the same from one longitudinal edge thereof toa position substantially parallel to the upper plate and underlying theprongs when the latter are covered by the upper plate, said prongengaging means being unattached to the upper plate at the side oppositethe point of attachment to said upper plate and having prong engagingedges spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the space betweenthe prongs, to permit association of the keeper and the bent down prongssolely by a relative lateral sliding movement of the keeper and theprongs by which said prong engaging edges are caused to pass along theprongs while retaining engagement with them as the upper plate of thekeeper is brought into overlying relation to the bent down prongs.

12. In a paper fastener adapted for use in combination with spacedprongs passing through a paper stack and folded down thereon, a keeperhaving a substantially uninterrupted upper plate covering the bent downportions of the prongs When the fastener is in assembled condition, andprong engaging means integral with the upper plate and permanentlyextending down and under the same from one longitudinal edge thereof toa position substantially parallel to the upper plate and extendingbeyond the upper plate.at the second longitudinal edge thereof topresent projecting edges spaced apart a distance substantially equal tothe space between the prongs and over which the prongs may be bent, saidprong engaging means being unattached to the upper plate at said secondlongitudinal edge to permit association of the keeper and the bent downprongs solely by a relative lateral sliding movement of the keeper andthe prongs, said projecting prong engaging edges having continuationsthereof underneath the upper plate whereby the bent down prongs will beheld positively by their inner surfaces as the keeper is brought intofull covering relatien to the prongs.

13. In a paper fastener adapted for use in combination with spacedprongs passing through a paper stack, a keeper plate formed of a singlepiece sheet metal permanently folded upon itself to form a prongreceiving channel, one wall of the channel extending laterally beyondthe other wall and being of a length substantially equal to the distancebetween the prongs.

14. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper provided with a top member and abase member permanently located one above the other at a side of thekeeper plate to form a channel-like recess between them openinglaterally at said side of the keeper plate, whereby the folded downprongs may be inserted laterally into the recess in the keeper, andmeans at each end of said keeper for restricting the entrance to therecess under said top member.

15. In a paper fastener of the type adapted for use with spaced prongspassing through a paper stack, a keeper provided with a top member and.a base member permanently located one above the other at a side of thekeeper plate to form a channel-like recess between them openinglaterally at said side of the keeper plate, whereby the folded downprongs may be inserted laterally into the recess inthe keeper, and prongretaining means on one of said members consisting of aportion of saidmember at each end thereof folded into the space between the twomembers.

JOHN SCHADE,

